Tehran [Iran], December 12 (ANI/Xinhua): Iran's Health Ministry reported 8,201 new COVID-19 cases on Saturday, raising the total nationwide infections to 1,100,818.

The pandemic has so far claimed 51,949 lives in Iran, up by 221 in the past 24 hours, said Sima Sadat Lari, spokeswoman for the Iranian Ministry of Health and Medical Education, during her daily briefing.

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Of the newly infected, 1,286 were hospitalized, added Lari.

A total of 800,743 people have recovered from the disease and been discharged from hospitals, while 5,739 remain in intensive care units, she noted.

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According to the spokeswoman, 6,657,974 tests for the virus have been carried out in Iran as of Saturday.

Currently, the risk of infection is high in 12 Iranian counties flagged with a red alert, while 231 counties are in orange alert, and 205 others at yellow level.

Iran announced its first cases of COVID-19 on Feb. 19. (ANI/Xinhua)

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